Kaicheng Site
开城遗址 (Kaicheng site) is a large Yuan dynasty archaeological site in Kaicheng town, Yuanzhou District, Guyuan, Ningxia, China, best known as the remains of the palace of the Anxi Prince (安西王府), a Mongol imperial appanage (land/revenue granted to a royal prince) on the Silk Road. It lies about 18 km south of the Yuanzhou District urban center in Kaicheng village, on the northern section of the Liupan Mountains.1
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Location | Kaicheng town, Yuanzhou District, Guyuan, Ningxia; 18 km south of the district center1 |
| Extent | 9.23 km² total; 3,500 m north–south and 500–1,000 m east–west1 |
| Principal remains | Palace of the Anxi Prince Manggala (忙哥剌), third son of Kublai Khan, built from 12722 |
| Notable finds | Glazed dragon-pattern roof tiles and gilded building ornaments; pottery and porcelain3 |
| Protection status | Fifth batch of Major Historical and Cultural Sites Protected at the National Level, announced 25 June 20014 |
Yuan history
The site's location continued an earlier Mongol connection with the area: Genghis Khan is recorded as having established a temporary palace at Kaicheng below the Liupan Mountains in 1227, the year he died in the same range, and Manggala built the Anxi palace on the basis of that earlier establishment.2
The establishment did not last long. After Manggala died, his son Ananda (阿难答) inherited the Anxi princedom, and the prince's power was progressively curtailed. In the eighth month of 1306 an earthquake struck Kaicheng Road, killing more than 5,000 people, including the late Qin princess consort Yeliwan (故秦王妃也里完), and severely damaging the Anxi palace.
Archaeological identification
Rediscovery, 1985–1992. In 1985 archaeologists of the Ningxia Institute of Cultural Relics, cataloging material from a general survey, recognized glazed roof tiles with dragon patterns among the collected building materials. In 1986 they returned to the find spot at Kaichengliang (开城梁) on the northern Liupan Mountains and identified a large Yuan dynasty palace building site there.
In 1992 a temporarily formed Kaicheng cultural relics work station carried out a wide-ranging survey, confirmed six separate site points, and recovered large quantities of artifacts including glazed building components, pottery, and porcelain. Excavation and research have continued since; a published research collection on the site includes reports on the palace city of the Anxi princedom and on the 2015–2016 work at Building Foundation No. 1 of the Changchongliang city site.1
Significance of the finds
The site is described as a large Yuan-era site in Ningxia with a large area, high rank, and a relatively clear character, of considerable academic value for the study of Yuan society and of the administrative evolution of the northwest during the Yuan and Ming periods.3 Two categories of finds carry particular weight. The glazed building ornaments, dominated by dragon motifs and yellow coloring, with gilded and silvered details on eave tiles and drip tiles, indicate imperial-rank architecture.3 The identification of an ancestral temple (宗庙) built specifically for the worship of Genghis Khan has been presented as historical evidence bearing on the circumstances of Genghis Khan's death.3 As a Silk Road site, the complex is also treated as material evidence for the study of the Yuan system of imperial princes (宗王制度) and of Guyuan's regional history.2
Protection history
The State Council's notice announcing the fifth batch of Major Historical and Cultural Sites Protected at the National Level is dated 25 June 2001.4 • 2
A name shared with Kaesong
The Chinese name 开城 also designates a different heritage site: the Kaesong Historic Sites and Monuments (开城历史古迹和遗址) in Kaesong, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, a World Heritage site comprising the Kaesong city walls, Manwoldae palace site, Songgyungwan academy, royal tombs, and other monuments of the Goryeo period.5 The two share only the name; the subject of this article is the Yuan princely site in Ningxia.
References
- 开城遗址及其突出的普遍价值, 开城遗址研究文集 (固原市原州区文物管理所编)
- 开城遗址｜固原全国重点文物保护单位｜万图录
- 開城遺址概述, 中文百科全書
- 国务院关于公布第五批全国重点文物保护单位和与现有全国重点文物保护单位合并项目的通知, 维基文库
- 开城历史古迹和遗址, 百度百科
Topic: Encyclopedia › Places and geography › Ancient and historical places › Vanished cities, towns, and settlements › Vanished settlements of East and Southeast Asia › Mongol and Inner Asian frontier towns
Initially written Oct 20, 2026 · Edited: Oct 25, 2026
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